Monday, March 17, 2014

Packing school lunches
is not my favorite thing to do.I
always do it the night before, after the kids have been tucked into bed.Most nights, there is nothing I would like more
than to skip this task and to retire to the couch with a hot tea and a good
book.However, the thought of the
alternative—scrambling in the morning to make four lunches, with awake children
expressing preferences—easily motivates me to endure this late-hour assignment.

Despite my aversion to
lunch-packing, I do feel that I have become quite accomplished at providing a broad
variety of (mostly) healthy options.Besides
my own brain-storming in response to the needs/desires of my own four children,
I benefit from exposure to other parental food offerings, which I observe at
the lunchtime of Pollywog Preschool.So--for
all you other reluctant lunch-packing parents, here are a few ideas from the Tapper house.Some of these are probably standards in your
repetoire, but perhaps you might find a few new ideas…and if you have any other
suggestions, I would love to hear!

Wraps and pitas (see
above; plus we like to include lots of veggies and different sauces in the
wraps)

Pasta Salad (Leftover
pasta?Add some yummies—tuna, pepperoni,
leftover chunks of meat, chunks of cheese, fresh veggies, some canned beans,
etc.Mix with mayo or another dressing
(All my kids like Zesty Italian!)I have
also done rice salads and potato salads, but the pasta salads tend to be the
favorites.)

Leftovers! (Just heat
in the morning and add to preheated thermoses!Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, meatballs and rice, mac’n’cheese, and shepherd’s
pie are some Tapper favorites.)

Soups, Stews, and
Chilis

Over-night Slow Cooker
Meals (I will sometimes throw some chopped potatoes, sausage, and veggies in
the slow cooker overnight…then just add to thermoses in the morning.)

Octopus on the Beach
(Okay, the nutritional value of this one might not be quite up to snuff…but my
kids like this on occasion.It does
demand some morning prep of Minute Rice and boiled hotdogs (with the “legs”
carefully cut from one end of each hotdog).I add a small container of ketchup and/or mustard for dipping.)

ON THE SIDE(This list could go on
forever…but I’ll add a few of our regulars…)